Nail-holding attachment for hammers.



No. 869,835. I PATENTED OCT. 29. 1907.

G. W. FOWLER. NAIL HOLDING ATTACHMENT FOR HAMMERS.

APPLIUATION FILED NOV.23.1906.

A TTORNE Y5 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. FOWLER, OF RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA.

NAIL-HOLDING ATTACHMENT FOR HAMMERS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. FOWLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Raleigh, in the county of Wake and State of North Carolina,have invented a new and useful Nail-Holding Attachment for Hammers, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an attachment for hammers for holding varioussizes of nails or tacks during the placing or starting of the nail ortack, as, for instance, in a position beyond the convenient reach ofboth hands.

The invention has for one of its objects to provide a nail holdingattachment of this character which is of comparatively simple,inexpensive and substantial construction, and reliable and efiicient inuse.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the attachment thatit is capable of being rigidly secured to hammers of various sizes andthat it is adapted to be placed on the hammer in such a way that thejaws can be readily released after the nail or tack is started, therebyenabling the latter to be fully driven in by the usual head of thehammer.

With these objects in view, and others, as will appear as the nature ofthe invention is better understood, the invention comprises the variousnovel features of construction and arrangement of parts, which will bemore fully described hereinafter, and set forth with particularity inthe claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one of the embodiments ofthe invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hammer equipped withthe nail holding attachment. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of thehammer handle showing the attachment in plan view.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout bysim'lar characters of reference.

Referring to the drawing, A designates an ordinary hammer of the clawtype comprising a head 1 and handle 2, and B the nail or tack holdingattachment therefor.

The attachment comprises a split clamping sleeve 1 having its ends 2turned outwardly parallel to each other and apertured at 3 for receivingthe clamping bolt 4. Attached to the clamping sleeve 1 is a plate 5 thatextends upwardly from the sleeve and is provided with a longitudinallydisposed V-shaped slot 6 forming the said upper end into relativelyfixed convergent jaws 7. The plate 5 is attached to one side of theclamping sleeve in any suitable manner, as by being formed integraltherewith, or secured by rivets 8, as shown. On the lower end of theplate 5 is a spur 9 having its pointed end turned laterally so as topermit of its being driven into the handle 2, and thus cooperate withthe clamping bolt 4 to hold the attachment rigidly on the hammer andsustain the thrust producedwhen the convergent jaws are engaged anddisengaged relatively to the nail.

The socket of the ordinary hammer head is tapered on its exteriorsurface in a direction toward the free end Specification of LettersPatent.

Application filed November 23, 1906.

Patented Oct. 29, 1907.

Serial No. 344.759.

of the hammer handle, and while a simple clamp applied thereto wouldquickly work loose, the device shown and described in the presentinstance is effectually locked in cooperative relation with the hammerhead, the spur projecting laterally from the plate 5 at a point beyondthe smaller end of the socket and cooperating with the wooden handle,serving to positively lock the holder from longitudinal movement, whilethe plate 5, cooperating with the flat face 11 of the hammer head,prevents 'a relative turning movement of the holder about the socket ofthe hammer head.

The attachment is assembled on the hammer in such a position that theclamping sleeve encircles the socket 10 of the hammer head 1, while thejaws 7 are disposed along the side of the side face 11 of the head 1. Inplacing the attachment on the hammer, the nut 12 of the bolt 4 isunscrewed sufiiciently to permit the clamping sleeve to be passed overthe outer end of the handle 2 and then slid along the handle andadjusted around the socket 10. The spur 9 is next driven into the Woodenhandle 2 and then the nut 12 is drawn up tight so that the clampingsleeve 11 will firmly grip around the socket end of the hammer head.

In placing a nail or tack in position, the head thereof is engagedbetween the jaws 7 and the side face 11 of the hammer head, theshank ofthe nail or tack extending outwardly between the jaws at right angles tothe axis of the handle 2. The hammer is then taken by the handle 2 inone hand and the nail or tack is readily placed or started by a swingingmovement of the hammer with the nail or tack pointed toward the objectin which the nail is to be driven. After thus placing the nail, thehammer is disengaged therefrom by pulling on the hammer in a directiontoward the operator. The nail can then be completely driven in the usualmanner.

With a nail holding attachment of the construction described, the samecan be applied to hammers of various sizes and can be secured rigidly inplace without screws or other fastening devices which require to bedriven into the handle and thereby weaken the same, according to certainattachments for holding nails. The construction is simple, inexpensiveand durable, and permits of nails or tacks being readily placed inposition and the hammer being easily released after the nail or tack isstarted.

What is claimed is:-

1. A nail holder attachment for hammers composed of sheet material andembodying a divided clamping sleeve, surrounding the taperedhandle-receiving socket of the hammer head, a bolt cooperating with thefree ends of said sleeve for drawing its sides into cooperative relationwith the said socket, a nail holding" device rigidly attached to oneside of the sleeve embodying a plate cooperating with one of the flatsides of the hammer head to prevent a relative rotary movement of thenail holder and having a pair of relatively fixed convergent jaws formedat one end thereof and resting opposite to the side face of the hammerhead, and a spur formed on the opposite end of said plate at a pointbeyond the smaller end of the socket on the hammer head and extendingradially inwardly and adapted to be held in cooperative relation withthe harm mer handle by the drawing action of said bolt.

2. A nail holder attachment for hammers embodying a clamping sleeve, atightening bolt for drawing it into (30 operative relation with thehammer handle, and a nail holding device rigidly secured to one side ofthe sleeve and embodying a plate having a pair of relatively fixedconvergent jaws at one end arranged opposite to one of the side faces ofthe hammer head, and diverging outwardly relatively thereto to form acontracted recess between the plate and hammer head to receive the nailhead In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I 2

have hereto alfixed my Witnesses.

signature in the presence of two GEORGE W. FOWLER. Witnesses WM. H.YAGER, D. R. BYRUM.

